I'm Glad (English Version)
by Onuki.Yumi
Summary: I was there. And then I heard it. And I didn't even have the time to say goodbye. Neji & Tenten. Oneshot.


I wasn't that far away when it happened.

Everything was a fast blur... In one minute, all was well, and in the next one, I heard it. Neji received a mortal wound. He threw himself in front of his cousin, and he protected Naruto. No medical treatment would be of help. He was _gone_. And I couldn't even say goodbye.

I lost my attention and my balance for a split second before recomposing myself, because I couldn't... I couldn't allow to distract myself. I had to keep myself unwavering. I had to.

My team and I went near him. I hesitated to move but I went, anyway.

It was the same picture from years ago. The perforations, the holes. He was pierced. Did life really feel the need to play such cruel pranks? Did life spare him once only to take him away from us in the same way? _To take him away from me_? I inwardly prayed to the heavens, hoping no one would see me quivering.

.

I thought I could endure anything in this war. I thought of several possibilities and prepared myself for all of them, but not for... this. This pain was enormous in comparison to the other ones, bigger than many losses I had suffered beforehand. I felt a lump in my throat, I didn't dare opening my mouth.

Lee was bawling copiously, holding Neji's body tight. I had no strength to do that. That voice in my head held me in place. _Be strong_.

"Don't cry, Lee..." Said Gai-sensei.

I squeezed my vest, trying to restrain myself and forget the blood on Neji's face, the missing mark on his forehead. I needed to.

"Lee..."

Persistent teardrops were trying to roll down. I closed my eyes. _I can't_.

"Lee, as long as we remember Neji's feelings... He will continue living in our hearts." he said.

.

I shut my eyes tightly. _I need to keep myself together. I have to bear it._

Then, a soothing feeling washed over me; the voice in my head was louder than before. Ah, they were memories from the past...

 _"_ _Tenten."_

 _It was summer, we were younger. Lee was training with Gai-sensei, some of their weird training practices. As for me, I was frustrated with my own training, I couldn't wield a particular type of weapon; it didn't matter what I tried, I always ended up hurting myself. And there was no firmness in my hand to hold that with so many injuries, I couldn't deal with it even after several attempts. One single weapon! I was so angry I just threw it on the ground. I sat under a tree. Tears of disappointment wet my face, products of five days in a row with no progress. It was taking a long time for me to learn. I wanted to be the_ _best;_ _I shouldn't screw up so much!_

 _"_ _Tenten!"_

 _I heard footsteps coming closer, I looked up and Neji was there. He was always there._

 _"_ _Tenten, you can't give up. Some things are hard, and that's how it is. You didn't think you were going to face this problem because you've mastered many weapons with no trouble at all, but it happens. We are not born knowing how to handle everything."_

 _I let out a sigh because of the scolding (a gentle one, but a scolding nonetheless), but he was right. Neji seemed to ponder something, and I had a small impression that he remembered his fight with Naruto. He had become more receptive and sensible, and even a little bit more talkative after the event. Soon, he began to speak again._

 _"_ _You know, you are strong. Very strong. Hold your emotions a little and control them. Don't cry because of a single failure; that's life. You are going to overcome it." I was perplexed. I never thought I would hear something like this out of the blue, specially after failing so hard. And I never even thought that such a compliment would come from him. I smiled and thanked him from the bottom of my_ _heart;_ _it meant the world to me. He gave me a small smile, very typical of someone like him, oh-such-a-Hyuuga-genius, and walked away to start training again._

 _And even_ _from far away_ _, I was sure I heard him mumble something like "I'd rather never see you cry"._

 _._

 _._

I opened my eyes. The tears I was holding were making my vision all blurry. I muttered to myself, _I see that you died with a peaceful face even when it probably hurt like hell. This is so like you, to give everything of yourself to someone. Even in your last second, without regrets. I won't cry... not now. I won't break down... You died while protecting your will and the people you love. And they'll survive. You really were the owner of your destiny, weren't you? Thank you for everything... Neji._

I let a smile appear, and briefly wiped my eyes so that people would not find out I almost cried. I went back to my place, to fight once again.

 _The pain is not going to go away so soon. But I have a mission to_ _fulfill;_ _I have to protect what he left for me, for us all._

 _._

For a second, I swore I saw Neji in front of me, smiling proudly. And I will never forget that undeniably I heard, as if part of the wind, his voice talking to me and going away as soon as it came.

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" _I'm glad"_

 _._

* * *

Hello! First, I want to say this fanfic was based on a tumblr post by Papabay. The link of the post is in my profile. I wasn't wanting to write, but that post made me obsessed and I needed to let it go. I wanted to make it a drabble, but I wrote too much and it's more like an oneshot now, haha

Second: MY DEAR FRIEND KURURU HELPED ME WITH THE TRANSLATION. She gave life and movement for the stiff translation I made. I'm very thankful for that! Her name here is _kurohyacchan_ and her user is _/u/4138608/_

And lastly, I wanna thank you for reading and I really hope you liked it! Also, excuse me if there are any typos. If you wanna hear the musics that helped me to write, there are links in my profile.

 _See ya!_ ✩


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